Most houses are constructed today include one or more can style lighting fixtures were the lighting fixture is recessed into a wall or ceiling. Many house is also include an intercom or speakers that are also mounted in the wall or ceiling. The installation of the lighting and sound are usually provided by different tradesman during the construction of the house. Some patents have been issued on products to try to combine the lighting and sound as a single element.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,272,843 issued to H. G. Pape on Jul. 6, 1918, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,363 issued on Feb. 21, 1984 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,620 issued on Jul. 9, 1985 both issued to Weber, disclose sound and lighting fixture that is suspended free ceiling. All three of these issued patents disclose a sound producing element combined with incandescent lighting. None of these three patents disclose that the lighting and sound fixture is for recessed ceiling or walled installation or for mounting on a wall or ceiling nor do they disclose using low voltage lighting, a wireless receiver or digital signal processing to account for placement or fixture construction. The orientation of the sound producing elements is also not adjustable to direct sound waves to a particular location.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,018 issued to Cordier on Oct. 4, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,057 issued to Cristie on Nov. 9, 1999 both disclose screw-in combination lighting/sound fixtures. Both of these two patents are for a standalone screw in lighting fixture that can be installed inside an existing lights socket and include a wireless receiver for receiving audio signal. Neither of these two patents provide a recessed lighting fixture they're simply lighting elements for installation in an existing fixture and do not include digital signal processing to account for placement or fixture construction. The sound producing elements eight oriented to direct sound waves to a particular location.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,753 issue to A. R. Turner on Jun. 15, 1937 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,584 issued to Kawahata et al. on Dec. 17, 1985 both disclose lighting fixtures for mounting on the ceiling. In the case of Turner, a portion of the fixture extensible below the ceiling and above the ceiling. In the case of Kawahata et al. fixture is mounted in the ceiling. Neither of these two patents discloses using low voltage lighting within the fixture. The orientation of the sound producing element is fixed within the fixture and cannot be oriented to direct sound waves to particular location. Neither of these two patents including digital signal processing to account for placement or construction of the fixture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,487 issued to Yang on Oct. 24, 1989 discloses a low voltage illuminating lamp set with programmable output for garden use. This patent includes a sound producing element that emits and sound or flashes the lights prior to the lights being turned off. This is done to allow people to exit the area prior to the lights being turned off. While this patent provides some sound producing features, it is not intended for the use with speakers for producing music, nor does the system provide wireless connection for sound and or lighting.
What is needed is a combination lighting and sound fixture that can be mounted on a ceiling or wall or recessed in a ceiling or wall that all of which can be installed while the house or building is being constructed or later added by a homeowner or contractor. The ideal lighting sound fixture would include interchangeable components, to allow for replaceable parts, include signal processing to account for sound obstructions and allow the speakers to be oriented for optimal sound. The proposed application provides these features and functions in a complete package that can be installed in a wall or ceiling, and also can be attached or installed on the surface of a wall or ceiling.